1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a loading bridge for air cargo loading which conveys the cargo into the aircraft.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to considerations such as the need to convey cargo into an aircraft in a short period of time, and the requirement to consider the balance of the aircraft when loading, as affected by the location of passengers, the weight of the cargo itself, etc., aircraft are normally equipped with multiple doors for loading cargo, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the main door 90 in the center of the fuselage, the bulk door 91 in the rear of the fuselage, the lower door 92 in the front of the fuselage, and the nose door 93 at the front point of the fuselage. The transportation of the cargo stored inside of the airport terminal building to the area of the loading door is normally performed using a ramp equipment tractor 94 to package/cargo carts 95, lower deck container dollies 96, pallet dollies 97, etc. Further, this cargo is raised up to the loading door of the aircraft by such means as container/pallet loaders 98, self-propelled conveyor belt loaders 99, etc.
However, the required operations, such as loading the cargo onto the package/cargo carts 95, the lower deck conveyor dollies 96, the pallet dollies 97, etc; connecting these to the ramp equipment tractor 94; driving the ramp equipment tractor 94; transferring the cargo to the container/pallet loaders 98, the self-propelled conveyor belt loaders 99; operating the container/pallet loaders 98 and self propelled conveyor belt loaders 99; moving the cargo into a specific place in the aircraft; all of these operations involve operating multiple types of equipments and employing numerous workers to move and convey the freight, which are very labor intensive and entails high manpower costs. This system is also dangerous due to the possibility of accidents, such as collisions of the ramp equipment tractors as they move along the complex tarmac markings.
In view of the above described situation, the objective of the present invention is to provide an air cargo handling system that eliminates the multiple types of equipment and numerous workers required for cargo handling, to lower manpower costs and cargo loading time, and to reduce danger by avoiding accidents and the like.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the loading bridge according to the present invention, employs a cargo conveyor line comprising a transport means such as a conveyor, which can be extended or retracted, that connects with a rotunda extending from the airport terminal building; a cargo conveyor junction having a means to change the direction of the cargo conveyance by rotating the conveyor surface or changing its angle to alter the direction of the cargo conveyance to match the next conveyor line; and another cargo conveyor line to reach the cargo loading door of the aircraft, to thereby enable the automated conveyance of cargo for the aircraft from the airport terminal cargo holding area to the cargo door of the aircraft without the use of human-driven equipment such as ramp equipment tractors, to eliminate the possibility of equipment collisions, to reduce manpower costs, and to shorten the time required for loading the aircraft.
Accordingly, the present invention is related to a loading bridge for conveying air cargo, that connects the airport terminal with the cargo door of the aircraft, and the loading bridge is distinguished by a configuration comprising a plurality of cargo conveyor lines, and at least one of which is extendable and retractable; and a cargo conveyor junction that joins the foregoing plurality of cargo conveyor lines, which, by rotating the conveying surface or by changing the angle of the surface, can divert the cargo riding on the cargo conveyor line from one cargo conveyor line to the designated cargo conveyor line, wherein one end of the loading bridge connects to the airport terminal and the other end reaches the cargo loading door of the aircraft to thereby enable the cargo to be transported from the airport terminal to the cargo door of the aircraft.
Since the cargo holding area of the airport terminal connects to the aircraft via a plurality of cargo conveyor lines connected by a cargo conveyor junction that can change the direction of the cargo being transported, the need for human driven ramp equipment tractors or other equipment used in the prior arts may be eliminated. Thus not only does this invention prevent the possibility of accidents such as collisions, but it also reduces manpower costs, and shortens the time required to load cargo onto an aircraft.
The cargo conveyor junction can be preferably configured by a transport unit (surface) having a cargo transport conveyor belt which is rotatable, and a control mechanism which can rotate the transport unit (surface) and stop it at the point in which the conveying direction of the transport unit matches the designated direction of the cargo conveyance.
The cargo conveyor junction mentioned above preferably can be round shaped, and configured by a carousel having a number of cargo loading plates which run around the circles. The carousel receives cargo from the cargo conveyor line and places the cargo on the loading plates turning around, and forwards the cargo to a next cargo conveyor line.
By configuring the cargo conveyor junction as above, whenever the cargo conveying line is bent at the cargo conveyor junction in any direction, the cargo on the cargo conveyor line can be forwarded to the designated bent cargo conveyor line flexibly. This arrangement enables the transport of the cargo from the cargo holding area of the airport terminal to the cargo loading door of the aircraft without any manpower. It will result in, as mentioned above, eliminating the need for human driven ramp equipment tractors or other equipment used in the prior arts. Thus not only does this invention prevent the possibility of accidents such as collisions, but it also reduces manpower costs, and shortens the time required to load cargo.
More precisely, the extendable/retractable cargo conveyor line may be configured by a central conveyor unit comprising a transport conveyor, and end conveyor units which are slidably joined to the central conveyor at each of its ends, and include a mechanism that maintains an approximately flat transport surface for the cargo between the end conveyor units and central conveyor unit.
The extendable/retractable cargo conveyor line configured in this manner is capable of connecting the cargo hold inside the airport terminal building with a cargo loading door by means of this loading bridge irrespective of the position where the aircraft is parked, to make it possible to convey the cargo without human intervention.